Apparatus for treating carbon black



'D. GLAXNER ETAL APPARATUS FOR TREATING CARBON BLACK Original Filed Jan.

moon, 295m INVENTORS DANIEL GLAXNER ELMER C. KILPATRICK ATToR EYs` Nov. 25, 1958 t .2361,34 Y, Y i 'APPARATUS non l'rnEArING CARBON BLACK lianinel Glaxnerand *Elmer/C. Kilpatrick, Pampa, Tex.,

assignorsto ,Columbian Carbon Company, New York, N. Y.,va corporation of Delaware Original applicationJanuary 2 2, 1953, SerialNo. 332,668,

.now Patent No.v 2,828,191, dated March 25,1958. D- vided and Lthis application December 16, 1957, Serial 6 claims. A(ecris-1) The present invention relates to the pelleting of carbon black and .more particularly to improved apparatus whereby carbon black pellets, or beads, Aof increased bulk density may be produced. a

v Carbon blacks, as initially produced, are extremely light, nely divided, bulkyl material which readily ies into the atmosphere. In the flocculent form, 50 pounds of carbon black will normally occupy a volume of cubic feet, or more. j

It ,has previously/been proposed'to convert 'finelyl divided carbon blackfto small, ngenerally s'phericahrelativef 1y densebeads, or pellets, either by violently agitating the Vblack in rthe dry4 form or by agitatingv the blackY with approximately. `an equal weight of water; By either of v these ',proce'sses, Ycarbon black, in 'free-flowing, beaded 4'form .lmayif be produced having the advantages'offinicreased@hulk density, 'increased rcleanliness 4inghantling andyetbeing capable of ready and uniform 'dispersion i n'nely. divided formin rubber composition, :or the like.

By..such".processes .for .pelleting the black, the'volume'of SOpounds ofthe carbon black may be reduced' to about lIt Yis. ,conventional fpras'ztice, especially xport trade,

tofship4 nthe 'carbonblaek'in bags of 5() #pounds"each,V In

boat shipments, particularly, shipping costs are determined `primarily by bulk. It haspreviouslybeen proposed still pression.

Ufurther to decrease the bulle'wand consequently the shipping costs, by subjecting the pelleted carbon black to com- Y It has been found, however, that, by so doing, the beads of carbon blackV are'fcrushed and the black loses its free-flowing characteristics. j p p `-`In .our copending `application Ser. No.` 332,668, led Ianuary22, 1953, now PatentpNo. 2,828,l9l'of 'which the present application is a division, weh'ave described and `claimed a process whereby the bulkV density'l of such .carbon black pellets may be still further Vinc're'ased'wit-hout destroying their free-flowing characteristics and with- .out destroying therelatively fragile characteristics of the beads which permit their subsequent dispersion at the point of use. V v

The process of mysaid cop'ending'application is of the wet-bead type, that is, one in which the beads are formed by agitating the occulentcarbon black with water, but it differs fromthe conventionalfwet-bead .process inseveral essential respects. The process generally consists of three steps. The first step of treating the locculent carbon black, which may have been subjected to` a predensing by conventional means to eliminate occluded gases,

is similar to the conventionaly wet process method de scribedv in the AGflaxner patent Re. 21,379, except that a substantially smaller proportion of water is used, the amount of water being restricted to a range of 35% to 45% ofthe black-waterA mixture by weight.

In the second step of the process, the vpreformed ag'- glomerates passing from the tlrst step, and without sub- 2,86 1,2 94 Patented Nev. '25,

ice

stantial drying, 'are 'subjected to "a violent agitationfin f1 of rectangularcross-section through which there 'exa tends longitudinally a shaft"2 rotatably supported by bearings 3. A portionl of the v"shaft within the' chamber 1 is provided with amultiplicity' of radially projecting pins 4,

arranged to formtwo double helices 90 apart. The respective pins of each helixare's-p'aced'Z inches-between by'an angleof l0". Y v l A j An, opening 5 vis provided atA oneendof the" chamber centers, each being removed from the next adjacentpin 'a .for` theintroduction of Ithef carbon blaek' arid Van inlett 6 is provided for the introduction of `,water't'o' V"the chamber.

The'shaft'Z is rotated by any'siitable:rneansfnot-shown, in a direction such that the helical vrows of pins'tehdto 'Y move the 'carbonlblack-waterfrriixture :the chamh ber toward the stationary dam Ymember y '47,* advantageousf ly, of adjustable vheight vso as 'to controlY the height vofthe body of carbon black retainedin chamberfl. flUsually,

therheightnof the dam member Twill be*subs'tantiaillyl :that

of the highest point vof the orbit ofthe rotating pins.

Positioned just belowncha'mberf 1,2 "land''in' :dipen corn- Wmunication therewith throughthe `opening 8, jis a :second chambery 9.V u `Extending through chamber 9" therearethree shafts lllrotatablysupported by selfaligning bearings 1v1, each shaft being provided with sprocket' 12 wherebyf the `shafts may be rotated, as by means of a jackshaft, "not shown. I

Eachof the shafts 10 is providedwithin chamb`er19 7with a multiplicity of radially projecting pins 9ja, "j`ar 4ranged in a single double helix of 40'pinchhes" pitchand spaced apart about 2 inchesbetween centers. j j y The lower portion of chamber 9 is providedy with' outlets 1,3 forthe finished beads and, from whence, Vthe beads may be passed to a conventional drier, not shown. Openings 13 are provided}with variable slide' gates y,14

y.for controlling the rate of discharge of beads from ehainber 9. In normal operation, the level of beadsis maintained at a height about'that indicated inthe drawing. An inspectiondoor `15 is provided for inspectingl'a'nd sampling the beads when desired.

In operation, the body of Vdense carbon'blacli` voiferSQvery substantial.resistancel to the ro-tatio'noffthe pins. and, 'to avoid bending'the'pins, it has' been" found frequently desirable to support leach of -the pins separately, as "shown particularly in Fig. 4 by a rigid braceml secured to the outer end of theresp'ective pins arid to the shaftlt), as by welding. y Y

The drawing represents a specific apparatus `which has been used with particular advantage, in carrying ouf'the process, and, in the drawings, dimensions of the several elements of the apparatus have been shown. It will be -understood, however, that the particular apparatus represented is illustrative, and not limitative, and thatfthe invention contemplates variations from the dimensions and arrangements of the apparatus shown, which will be apparent to those versed in the art to which the invention relates.

In the particular apparatus shown, the walls of the chambers were of l inch thick redwood, the shafts were 2%5 inch cold-rolled steel jacketed with stainless steel and the pins were of stainless steel, 1/2 inch diameter and 12 inches long, extending through the shaft, as shown in Fig. 4, to form a double spiral.

The invention and its'utility will be` further illustrated by the following specific examples of an operation carried out in the particular apparatus shown. Flocculent carbon black of the type known as channel black, and marketed under the registered trademark Micronex, was charged to chamber 1 through opening 5 at the rate of 500 pounds per hour, and water was introduced at a rate equivalent to 40 pounds for each 60 pounds of black. The shaft 2 was rotated at 150 R. P.` M. The level of black in chamber 1 was maintained at approximately the height of the orbit of the rotating pins by suitable adjustment of the dam 7. Y Y

Moist agglomerates of the carbon black were formed in chamber 1 and overflowed the dam into the lower chamber 9, the slide gates 14 being adjusted to maintain the height of beads in chamber 9 at slightly above the upper orbit of the pins of the upper shaft 10.V The three shafts 10 were rotated at 357 R. P. M., the upper and lower shafts carrying right-hand flights of pins and the intermediate shaft, carrying a left-hand ight of pins. The beads withdrawn from chamber 9 through outlets 13 were passed to a conventional drier and dried and the dried beads were found to have a bulk of 1.5 cubic feet per 50 pounds. These beads were free-owing and were readily dispersible in rubber formulae by conventional methods. y

It is important that chamber 9 be adapted to contain a relatively deep bed of carbon black so as to result in increasing compressive forces on the beads as they descend through the bed and that the upper level of the bed be high enough above the orbit of the top iiight of pins so that in operation the surface of the bed has only a slight movement, if any, without separation of beads Vfrom the mass. 'Ihe height of the surface above the top ight of pins should be at least 4 inches.

The operation of the first step of the process is subject to considerable variation, in accordance with conventional procedure, with the exception of the proportion of water used, which should be within the previously specified range of 35% to 45%, by weight of the water-blackmixture. Thespeed of rotation of shaft 2 is not highly critical, but must be such as to result in carbon black agglomerates at the particular rate of feed of carbon black and water.

The speed of rotation of shafts 10 may be varied somewhat and, with advantage, should be within the range of about 300 to 360 R. P. M. It has been found that, where the speed of rotation of shafts 10 exceed about 400 R. P. M., the resultant carbon black pellets are not readily dispersed in rubber mixture, for instance. Where the shafts 10 are rotated at much below 300 R. P. M., the time required to produce pellets of the required density is increased to an extent such as to be commercially uuattractive. By prolonged agitation of the beads in chamber 9, it has been found possible to reduce their bulk density to as low as 1.3 cubic feet per 50 pounds. Where the agitation has been further prolonged to produce pellets of greater bulk density, it has been found thatV the dispersibility of the carbon black is undesirably affected. However, such less readily dispersed beads may be of value where ease of dispersion is of lesser importance. Accordingly, the shafts l0 should be adapted to rotation at speeds within the indicated range.

Though the invention has been specifically illustrated by an operation involving the use of channel black, it will be understood that the invention is also applicable to other types of carbon black, including furnace blacks. In treating furnace black, for instance, in apparatus such as illustrated in the drawing, it is generally desirable that there be at least three shaft assemblies in the lower chamber, and preferably four such assemblies. However, in treating channel black, where maximum density is not required, the upper shaft assembly of this chamber may be omitted. Y

Clearances between the side walls of the chambers and the rotating pins should with advantage be quite small, advantageously of the order of 1 inch, in order to prevent pocketing of the black and uneven treatment thereof. Otherwise these clearances do not appear to be critical. It is also advantageous that the lower chamber 9 be tapered somewhat and rounded at its lower end as shown particularly in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The purpose of this is also to promote more even treatment of the carbon black pellets. However, these features are likewise not essential.

Clearances between the rotating, interdigitating pins yand pin size may be varied somewhat, but most advantageously should be substantially as described with respect to the specific apparatus illustrated. The size and spacing of the pins must be such that, when the shafts are rotated, the pins on one shaft will pass between the pins on the adjacent shaft or shafts in close proximity thereto but without contact therewith.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for increasing the bulk density of beaded carbon black comprising a horizontally-elongated chamber of greater height than width, means for introducing preformed carbon black beads into the upper portion of said chamber, a plurality of rotatably mounted shafts extending longitudinally through said chamber each provided with a plurality of radially-extending pins arranged about the respective shafts in helical formation, the axes of said -shafts being parallel and so positioned that in rotation the pins on the respective shafts interdigitate in close proximity to, but out of contact with, those of adjacent shafts, said shafts being adapted to be rotated at a speed of 300-400 R. P. M., means for withdrawing beaded carbon black from the lower portion of said chamber and for maintaining within said chamber a body of carbon black beads of a depth such that the upper surface thereof lies above the orbit of thepins of the uppermost shaft. Y

2. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising at least three shaft assemblies the axes of rotation Aof which lie in a common vertical plane.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the helices of pins on adjacent shafts run in opposite directions about the respective shafts.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 in which adjacent shafts are adapted to be rotated in opposite directions.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the lower end of the chamber is arcuated to conform generally with the lower portion of the orbit of the pins of the lowermost shaft.

6. Apparatus of the type described comprising an elongated chamber, va rotatable shaft extending longitudinally through said chamber and provided therein with a multiplicity of radially extending pins, helically arranged about said shaft, means opening into one end of said chamber adapted to the introduction of carbon black and water thereto, a second chamber communicating at its upper portion with a lower portion of the other end of the iirst said chamber, a plurality of rotatable shafts extending through the second chamber, each shaft being pro vided therein with a plurality of radially extending pins, the axes of said shafts being parallel, and said pins being arranged about the respective shafts in helical formation, the respective shafts and pins being so positioned within said chamber that when said shafts are rotated the pins on ,the respective shafts interdigitate in close proximity to, but out of contact with, the pins on adjacent shafts, the said shafts being adapted to be rotated at a speed of 300-400 R. P. M., said second chamber being adapted to be lled to a level such that the pins of al1 of the rotating shafts are completely submerged and an outlet adapted to the withdrawal of carbon black beads from the lower portion of the second chamber.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Gholson May 1, 1951 

